Thanks for the article. It was a very interesting read. I love the aspect of "Traveling the marshes" referring to sex.
Unfortunately I don't remember where I read this, but I recall Egyptians believed when a female had an organism, the 'invisible energy produced' but such an event, was a blessing for the entire land of Egypt, ensuring a healthy crop.

It's my understanding that all things are made of energy, a science I think the Egyptians believed in, even if they called it something different. This energy in all things can be focused for positive or negative results. This is a physics concept. A great documentary/movie about this is called 'What the Bleep Do We Know?' It has nothing to do with Egypt, but it's still a great watch, and can help you see what I mean by the sharing of energy.

Cheers!_________________With the wind we are connected. With the earth we are united. With the stars, we all see home.

Thanks for the article. It was a very interesting read. I love the aspect of "Traveling the marshes" referring to sex.
Unfortunately I don't remember where I read this, but I recall Egyptians believed when a female had an organism, the 'invisible energy produced' but such an event, was a blessing for the entire land of Egypt, ensuring a healthy crop.

I haven't run across that myself, but maybe I could try that line on my husband.

I suppose that part of the problem in understanding these sort of things is that the Egyptians did not spend a great deal of effort on recording the details of these sort of popular festivals for posterity and by the time the Greek writers, like Herotodus for example got to Egypt, the culture was already in decline. Add to that the cultural perspectives of modern scholars either prudish (see no sex, hear no sex, think no sex!) or prurient (harems! harems all over the place! and sacred prostitutes too! Oh my!) and you've got a recipe for not understanding the real attitudes of the ancient Egyptians.

Anyway, Naunacht, ask any happily married man how does he remain happy? By keeping the wife happy, that's how.

Women, to me, are "innies" while men are "outies." As a woman myself, I see all women as absorbers, we take things in. Where as men, correct me if I'm wrong guys, see things on the outside, so to say. When a man and woman are balanced in a relationship, it is a perfect blending.

So when a woman "releases" a bunch of pent up energy that she has been absorbing, the hope is the energy is positive.

Funny little thing about "harem" ... according to some sources, harem or 'harim' is also known as Opet or Ipy, which is another name for the great goddess Tawaret.

Tawaret is the Egyptian goddess of childbirth and fertility. *wiki quote* The Egyptian system of constellations connected the hippopotamus with the northern sky, and it was in this role as Nebet-akhet ('mistress of the horizon') that Taweret was depicted on the ceiling of the tomb of Seti I...in the Valley of the Kings (KV15)."[2]*

Which brings me to a question, do any of you AE folks know the Egyptian word for Hippo? I saw a reference that it some how came to the spelling DBR. I would appreciate any help offered.

Cheers!_________________With the wind we are connected. With the earth we are united. With the stars, we all see home.

I would be very cautious about making connections like "Opet" and "Ipet"... we're used to seeing them with vowels, which can exaggerate the similarities between words. If we did the same thing, and we used "cr" for a vehicle we drive (car), and "cr" for tending to the wounded (care), someone might be tempted to say we use the same word for the vehicle and tending the wounded because the vehicles are so dangerous. Sounds perfectly reasonable-- and is etymologically completely wrong.

I would be very cautious about making connections like "Opet" and "Ipet"... we're used to seeing them with vowels, which can exaggerate the similarities between words. If we did the same thing, and we used "cr" for a vehicle we drive (car), and "cr" for tending to the wounded (care), someone might be tempted to say we use the same word for the vehicle and tending the wounded because the vehicles are so dangerous. Sounds perfectly reasonable-- and is etymologically completely wrong.

Thank you Montuhoep88! This is exactly why I love this site. Opet and Ipet were put together for me in the research I reviewed. If I am mistaken on these two, I would love further clarification.

I looked up etymologically because I was unfamiliar with the term. Logically, historically, common sense mainstream local knowledge expansion wise, yes those reasons fit that term.

However I'd like to purpose a conjecture. I am a navy brat. For those of you who do not know that phrase, it means my father was in the navy and we moved every 4 years or so. Although our moves were within the United States, it truly is amazing the difference in the local customs in Hawaii verses Virginia. Not to mention the slang and accents.

Moving portion aside, if you've ever been to a bar and met someone who does not speak your language fluently, it's still amazing how you can still communicate. I call it "beering-aides." For some reason, the more you drink, the more you become friends with this person you can barely communicate with.

Now ... taking that same concept and traveling back in time 3,000 or so years to the original sailors ... don't you think they met up in a pub or two, as it were, and shared a tale or two. And the accents of each cause a slight manipulation in the true word.

So ... seeing a word like "harem" can easily be seen with "beering aides" on as "harim" and the tale that was told.

Just a thought. _________________With the wind we are connected. With the earth we are united. With the stars, we all see home.

Interesting read, thanks for your input. I am a freelance journalist myself looking to write a piece on ancient Egyptian sexuality and publish it in a blog I'm setting up explicitly for the purpose. I've only published things on more reputable platforms and think that I'm going to go with the hosts below to start a blog on.
Anyway, I've been enjoying reading your stories and learning lots from the fountain of knowledge that is Egyptian Dreams!